Being a volunteer coordinator isn't just a profession; it's a true calling. While the dedication that drives your success in managing volunteers is admirable, it's crucial to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Your passion for serving others should enhance, not overwhelm, your personal life and professional responsibilities.
Allowing burnout to take hold can deplete your energy and hinder your effectiveness. Establishing clear boundaries as a volunteer coordinator and leveraging tools that improve your efficiency is essential for sustaining your well-being and ensuring optimal performance in your role.
What is Burnout?
Burnout is more than just feeling tired; it's a complete depletion of energy and drive that makes even the simplest tasks seem overwhelming. From struggling to send a basic email to finding it hard to get out of bed in the morning, the symptoms of burnout can take a serious toll on your mental and physical well-being. It's like hitting a wall of exhaustion that zaps your motivation and leaves you feeling powerless and disconnected from those around you.
The symptoms of volunteer management burnout include:
- Extreme exhaustion
- Struggling to get up for work every day
- A lack of patience with yourself and others
- Isolation from the people around you
- Difficulty focusing
- Feeling constantly overwhelmed
- Increased anger
- Powerlessness
- Loss of appetite
- Self-doubt
- Headaches
- Poor sleep
- Stomach issues
Burnout goes beyond being simply unpleasant; it also compromises your immune system, increasing susceptibility to common illnesses like colds. Furthermore, it can escalate to serious health issues such as high blood pressure.
What Causes Burnout in Volunteer Coordinators?
Burnout is caused by periods of prolonged stress. Volunteer management burnout is especially common because volunteer coordinators often have to go above and beyond to fulfill their jobs.
A variety of factors contribute to volunteer management burnout:
- Long and/or irregular work hours
- Too many responsibilities
- A lack of volunteer program resources
- Challenging volunteers
- Not delegating tasks properly
- Extensive emotional labor
- Poor work/life balance
Because of their passion for their jobs, it is all too easy for volunteer coordinators to overextend themselves without realizing it. Nonprofits do a lot with a little, and a volunteer coordinator may feel the need to sacrifice their work/life balance, emotional energy, or mental health to maximize organizational impact.
While it’s all right for volunteer managers to push themselves every once in a while for extremely important tasks—like working a 60-hour week during your organization’s biggest annual fundraiser—consistently overextending yourself can lead to burnout.
How to Prevent Burnout: Set Volunteer Coordinator Boundaries
The number one way to prevent burnout is to set volunteer coordinator boundaries. Everyone deserves a healthy work/life balance, and establishing boundaries doesn’t just make you happier; it also makes you better at your job.
- Don’t feel guilty for setting boundaries: As the saying goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup. So, making time for yourself and setting boundaries is the most productive thing you can do. There’s no need to feel guilt or shame. Strong boundaries protect your health and well-being so that you can be the best volunteer coordinator you can be.
- Communicate with your boss and coworkers: Be honest with organizational leadership about how much work you can handle. If you are overextended, say so respectfully and professionally. There is almost always a way to reorganize or reassign work so that the most important tasks get done without excess stress.
- Prioritize tasks: What has to be done as soon as possible, and what can wait until next week? Break down major projects into smaller tasks and prioritize them accordingly. This technique will help you focus on one item at a time instead of getting overwhelmed.
- Implement volunteer management software: Volunteer management software can help you streamline operations and automate repetitive tasks, giving you more time and energy to allocate to other aspects of your job.
- Take short breaks throughout the day: Don’t work through lunch or breaks. Leave your desk and head to the break room or go for a short walk. You would be surprised how effective even a few minutes of rest can be.
- Organize your workspace: While we all have different working styles, a cluttered desk can contribute to stress. Make sure you can easily access everything you need for your job to reduce inefficiency and frustration.
- Don’t work when you’re not at work: When you are off the clock, you’re off the clock. Resist the urge to respond to work-related messages or complete extra tasks when you’re at home or on vacation. If you let work time invade “playtime,” you won’t get the full benefits of that time off. If it’s not a true emergency, it can wait.
- Delegate tasks: You don’t have to do everything by yourself. Trust your teammates and volunteers to help you.
- Connect with others: Isolation is one of the biggest contributors to burnout. Bond with your coworkers off the clock with an afternoon coffee or team happy hour and look for other, non-work-related communities that you can engage with, like a book club or community theater.
- Cultivate hobbies: When you’re passionate about your job, it can feel difficult to separate your work from your life. Engaging in hobbies is a relaxing way to find satisfaction and enjoyment outside of the workplace.
- Celebrate successes: Take the time to celebrate your wins, both big and small! Acknowledging your successes makes it easier to feel productive, satisfied, and happy.
- Be wary of hustle culture: Sometimes, you do have to buckle down and get things done. However, if you’re in a constant state of “hustling,” you will find yourself on the path to burnout before long.
- Recognize the early signs of burnout: Learn to recognize the first signs of burnout so that you can nip it in the bud before it spirals out of control.
- Stick to your boundaries: This step is the hardest part. It’s easy to feel pressure—from both others and yourself—to compromise your boundaries. Don’t give in. If you respect your boundaries, other people will as well.
How to Handle Volunteer Management Burnout
If you’re already experiencing volunteer management burnout, you will have to address it before you can start establishing strong volunteer coordinator boundaries.
It can be tempting to try to push through, but ultimately, struggling to work through burnout is less productive than taking a little extra time to address it. You will be a much better volunteer coordinator once your burnout is under control.
Follow these steps:
- Acknowledge that you are burnt out: The first step to conquering burnout is admitting that it is happening. Once you name the monster, you can start improving your situation.
- Take some time off: Even one day off can make a world of difference when it comes to burnout. Make use of personal time, vacation days, or even sick leave so that you can get some much-needed rest and personal space. The time off is ultimately productive because it will give you the energy you need to return to work.
- Reach out to your support network: Talk to your friends and family about how you are feeling. Love, support, and belonging can help you overcome feelings of burnout.
- Focus on the things you can control: Feeling out of control is a major contributor to burnout. Instead of worrying about things you have no power over, put your energy towards completing small, concrete tasks.
- Exercise: Physical activity helps dissipate stress, and it also gives you endorphins, the hormones that boost your mood.
- Prioritize sleep: Sleep is critical to mental and physical health. Set a consistent sleep schedule and aim for at least 8 hours per night.
- Practice mindfulness: Mindfulness techniques like meditation and deep breathing keep you grounded in the moment and relieve stress. When you practice mindfulness, you can approach things from a calmer, more objective perspective.
- Clarify your values: Understanding your values can help you direct your energy more efficiently. Try making a list of the things that are important to you and reflect on how you can prioritize those values in your day-to-day life.
- Remind yourself why you love your job: You became a volunteer coordinator for a reason. Make a list of the aspects of your work that you appreciate the most, and try to remember them when things get tough.
- Consider working with a mental health professional: If you cannot overcome burnout by yourself, a licensed therapist can offer specific exercises, professional advice, and objective support.
Once you start to feel less burnt out, establish strong volunteer coordinator boundaries to help keep burnout from creeping up on you again.
Mitigate Volunteer Manager Burnout with VolunteerHub
VolunteerHub can play a critical role in preventing volunteer management burnout. Our industry-leading volunteer management software optimizes every step of the volunteer management process—saving you time, money, and energy while improving the overall volunteer experience.
VolunteerHub offers resources that allow you to automate and streamline volunteer management tasks, including:
- Volunteer communications
- Recruitment
- Scheduling
- Hour tracking
- Awards and recognition
- Reporting
- Fundraising
With VolunteerHub, you can keep your volunteers active, engaged, and satisfied—without overextending your volunteer coordinator. Our intuitive, easy-to-use platform has assisted thousands of organizations, and your nonprofit can be next!
